The Judicial Yuan yesterday proposed several measures aimed at reforming the justice system.
Among them were proposals to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) to prevent defendants from fleeing the country before being sentenced and other changes that would facilitate court proceedings, Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lu Tai-lang (呂太郎) told a news conference in Taipei.
The Judicial Yuan is mulling rules to have a defendant in court for their verdict and more powers to detain them, Lu said, adding that district prosecutors’ offices would be able to detain a defendant who has been sentenced to death or a prison term of more than two years.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Prosecutors would be able to detain people before a verdict is issued, especially if there is good reason to believe they might try to flee, he said.
The move comes after years of criticism that the law is ineffective, with critics pointing to people during former president Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) term whom fled the nation before serving their sentence, such as former legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助); former Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chih-hui (何智輝); Wan Chung (萬眾), who is wanted for extortion and racketeering; former Kaohsiung prosecutor Ching Tien-po (井天博); and former Chinese National Federation of Industries chairman Preston Chen (陳武雄).
Another proposal was to do away with typed transcripts in “easier” cases — such as when defendants plead guilty — with video or audio recordings being sufficient, Lu said.
The recordings would only need to be notarized if parties to the case sought to clarify points of court procedure, he said, adding that courts could outsource typing of court registers to private contractors that are familiar with the law using the recordings.
That would ease workloads for the registry and judges, and judges would be less prone to staring at the screen displaying the transcript and could focus on the people in court, Lu said.
The Judicial Yuan is also contemplating out-of-court settlements on the appellate circuit. Out-of-court settlements are only allowed in trial courts, due to a shortage of judges — 2,022 — compared with the number of cases — 3.2 million per year — Lu said.
The Judicial Yuan is also seeking to allow related cases to be combined, as there can be conflicting rulings in cases that are related but conducted separately, with first and second trials presided over by different judges.
The proposals were raised yesterday, with the Presidential Office’s preparatory committee for judicial reform to hold group discussions once every two weeks starting tomorrow.
The discussions will culminate with a national affairs conference on judicial reform, expected to take place in June.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from